The present invention relates to performance review systems for assuring compliance with performance standards. It finds particular application in conjunction with quality auditing of manufacturing processes and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention will also find application in conjunction with customer surveys, supplier surveys, and the like.
There is currently an effort to standardize the morass of quality, assurance standards. An international quality standard known as ISO-9000 has been developed. The ISO-9000 standards provide a detailed, yet standardized, set of instructions which enable customers around the world to be assured of the quality of a product.
The computer has been utilized in preparing quality information documents and electronically transmitting them to an appropriate user location. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,148 of Holda, et al. Such computer systems received various quality and testing instructions, and forwarded the instructions and standards to appropriate work stations. Although such a computer system disseminated the documentation to the appropriate workstations, it provided no assurance that the instructions or standards were being followed. Moreover, the standards were subject to interpretation by employees. Different employees at various workstations could interpret the same standard differently. Even workers working different shifts on the same fixture or equipment could interpret the standards differently. If there were customer returns fox defective parts or products, the computer system provided no basis for identifying the cause of the defects. Rather, human-labor was commonly required to analyze the defective parts, try to trace the defect to one or more portions of the manufacturing process, and revise the quality standards and instructions as a result of such analysis.
The present invention provides a new and improved system which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.